How To Keep Your Career Intact Through a PCS

Most likely, at some point in your milspouse life, you’re going to move. If you work outside the home, this means you’ll need to find yourself a new job. Depending on your career choice, this can be a difficult task. It’s even more difficult if your family is sent to a remote location.

However, there are many ways to make a career work.

We’re lucky today that there are tons of jobs—even jobs working from home. The most important thing to remember is not to be extremely picky. No matter where you move or the career that you’re in, you might be starting from the bottom up again. Being a military spouse, compromise comes with the territory.

Don’t let it deter you from trying to have an actual career. There are companies and jobs all over the country and world, it just takes work and time to find the right fit.

Here are some tips to maintain your career while being a military spouse:

1. Search for jobs before.

Don’t wait until you get there to start looking for a job. The longer you are out of the career, the harder it is to come back in. Being proactive about finding a job in your industry helps you know what is out there in your new location. Indeed is a great website to browse or apply for jobs before you arrive.

2. Start applying for jobs ASAP.

Get your resume up-to-date and start finding the jobs you want. You can visit your local Army Community Service building to get resume assistance and interview tips. Look at the surrounding towns and cities near your next location that you are willing to commute to and apply for jobs there as well. Having a job lined up before moving is a great way to get excited about moving, begin the search of finding friends immediately, and gives you something to look forward to in your new location.

3. Use technology.

Many companies will use Skype for interviews instead of having to meet in person. FaceTime or Google Hangouts are two other apps that companies are now using as well.

In your cover letter, write that you will be moving to that location (give the exact date if you can) so they will understand why you would need a Skype interview versus going in person. If the job is a major company and you decide to go to an in-person interview, try to schedule multiple interviews in one day or two in order to make the trip worth it. Sometimes you can get lucky and the company will cover the cost of travel. But technology is there to support you if a trip is not feasible.

4. Research your new location.

Knowing something about your location could be important to your interview, depending on your career. Get a tourist guide book, give your location a good internet search, look up the companies, and use LinkedIn to its fullest extent before interviewing with a company. It shows your interest not only in their company but also in the new location.

 

 

Your career doesn’t have to end because of a PCS and plenty of milspouses are able to find ways to make it work. These are a few tips to get you started. Do you have anything else to add? Let us know in the comments.

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Retired Blogger

Retired Blogger

Army Wife Network is blessed with many military spouses who share their journey through writing in our Experience blog category. As we PCS in our military journey, bloggers too sometimes move on. Their content and contributions are still valued and resourceful. Those posts are reassigned under "Retired Bloggers" in order to allow them to remain available as content for our AWN fans.

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